Monster
by Checkered Brooke
Summary: "He hoped that the final use of his ability would do someone some good."


"'Aaah!' Misaka Misaka says in awe, trying to convey that she wishes to own the toy in the store window," a child exclaimed, tugging on her white-haired pale-skinned companion, who only scoffed and kept walking.

"We're not here to buy stuff," he grunted.

"'But it's a really nice toy,' Misaka Misaka pouts, trying to appear cute in hopes of persuading Accelerator to buy her the toy," she frowned, tugging on his shirt again.

"I said we're not getting it," Accelerator repeated, adjusting the strap around his neck.

The odd pair walked in silence for a few moments, passing several stores within the mall.

Most of which had things very appealing to Last Order.

"'Nee, what is that for?' Misaka Misaka wonders aloud, pointing at the strange thing on Accelerator's neck, trying to distract herself from the toys in the windows."

"Nothing," Accelerator muttered. "Quit lagging, if you get lost I'm not going to find you."

"'Can Misaka see?' asks Misaka Misaka, jumping up and down, trying to get a good look," the girl said. Accelerator ignored her for the most part.

Until her finger accidentally pushed a button on the small box strapped to his neck.

Accelerator's face twisted into one of pure rage, and he lost sense for a moment. He spun around immediately, and with an already raised hand previously meant to scratch the back of his neck, he slapped her.

The millisecond his palm made contact with her cheek, his eyes widened and he jumped back, pulling his arm past his chest.

Last Order stood completely still, staring into Accelerator's red eyes, her brown ones wide and confused.

"'Did Misaka do something wrong…?' Misaka Misaka asks, trying to ignore her sore cheek." Her eyes were watering and her hands were clutched to her chest.

"N-…I…s…sorry…" he stuttered, shoving his hands deep inside his pockets and quickly walking away, a slightly stunned Last Order behind him.

…

Accelerator couldn't sleep that night. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was the utter shock and hurt that had been earlier displayed on Last Order's face.

"I really am a monster…" he murmured, staring at the ceiling. Minutes, then hours passed, and his eyes slowly slid closed.

…

"'_Ah!' Misaka Misaka cries out, nursing her surely bruised cheek!"_

"_Accelerator, that hurts!' cries Misaka Misaka, staring up at Accelerator from the ground!"_

"'_Why did you do that?' murmurs Misaka Misaka, holding back tears!"_

_Accelerator stood before himself. It was a mirror image, a copy. But something about held a sense of realism. _

_Accelerator held up a hand, and so did the other._

'_A mirror?' he muttered. He stared at himself for what seemed to be forever, but then he—it—moved. _

_Its eyes sank into their sockets._

_Accelerator briefly remembered the saying 'Eyes are windows to the soul'. _

_This…thing…had no soul._

_Its mouth twisted into a grin that reached the corners of its would-be eyes. Its teeth were pointed and ground together menacingly. Its fingernails grew and sharpened, and the creature began to laugh._

_Accelerator, eyes wide, looked at his hand to find that his fingernails were longer._

_And sharper. _

_Shakily, he raised a hand to find that the…thing…mimicked his exact movement._

_He pressed his hand to his face._

_Where he should have felt eyes, he felt a cavity._

_The image started to laugh again. The laugh filled Accelerator's head, and did not stop, even when he was curled up on the ground, screaming—pleading—for it to stop._

_Suddenly the laughter ceased. The creature sat beside him, gazing into the soul he did not have with the eyes it did not have._

"_Monster," it whispered to him._

…

Accelerator shot up in bed, panting, his knuckles white from gripping the sheets, and his forehead drenched in sweat.

His mind was blank for a few seconds before he remembered the nightmare. He immediately felt his face; making sure he had eyes and that his mouth wasn't stretched into an eternal grin.

He threw the sheets off of him and left the room.

He passed Last Order's room, Yomikawa's room, Kikyou's room, and kept walking until he reached the front door. He reached for the handle, and glanced back over his shoulder.

He cursed to—at—himself, opened the door, and walked out.

He kept walking, having no idea where he was going. Up and down stairs, around and past corners, and somehow he ended up back in his room, sitting on his bed, with his head resting in his hands.

"Monster. I'm a monster," he repeated quietly.

"How can I be allowed to live?" he murmured. "I could have killed her."

Slowly, he raised a finger to the box strapped to his neck, and pushed a button.

For a few moments he stared at his hand.

"_I wonder what would happen if I reversed the direction the blood flowed in your body…?"_

Accelerator smiled a small smile.

"I'm a monster," he said.

He closed his hand around his throat.

He hoped that the final use of his ability would do someone some good.


End file.
